1.

How are you?

In this lesson you learn to

Greet and farewell others

Introduce yourself

Ask others for their name

Address people with correct titles

Address people formally and informally

Thinking

Think about different forms of greeting.

Consider the right form to approach your new professor.

Talking

Say hello to your professor.

Introduce yourself.

Ask about his or her name.

Ask how he or she is doing.

Say goodbye.

Optional

Include some further information on your country of origin, age and

your current occupation.

2.

In the taxi

In this lesson you learn to

Interact in basic situations

o Excuse yourself
o Say thanks
o Ask somebody to repeat something
o Ask for the translation of a word you don't know

Ask for and respond to questions about simple personal information

o Age
o Country of Origin
o Current Occupation

Count from 0 to 10

Talk about places

Ask for directions

Your professor is a taxi driver who is very interested and helpful but speaking a bit too fast for
you. But don't worry: just ask him to speak a bit slower. This will probably become one of your
key survival phrases.

Thinking

Think about how to politely ask somebody to speak slower.

Consider the right form to approach a cab driver.

Talking

You enter the cab and ask the driver to get you to the bus station.

Inquire also how to get from the bus station to the bank which is
supposed to be around there.

Given your strong accent the taxi driver becomes very curious and
asks you where you are from, how old you are and what you are
doing in your country. You answer and also ask him (or her) about
her (or his) age.

As you arrive thank him (or her) and say goodbye.

Optional

You might include some small talk on how you like the city in which
you are being driven around.

3. Family Life
In this lesson you learn to

Talk about family and friends

Describe persons and things

Ask and respond to simple questions (who, what, when, from where)

Your professor is somebody you meet at a dinner party. Please introduce yourself and tell him
about your family.

Thinking

Take a minute to think about some adjectives that describe your

family.

Consider the appropriate forms to hold small talk at a dinner party.

Talking

Get acquainted with your conversation partner at the dinner party.

Introduce yourself.

Tell him or her about your family.

Optional

4.

Hold some further small talk about the host.

Time

In this lesson you learn to

Understand and express dates

Ask for and tell time

Count from 11 - 100

Identify colors and talk about your favorite color

Your professor amazingly turns out not only to be a language teacher but also a time
management coach. As your language learning takes up more and more of your time you decide
to give it a try and ask him for help. In a first step he assesses your current day to get a better
idea of your lifestyle.

Thinking

Take a minute to think about the things that you do every day.

Talking

Tell your coach know when you get up, when you have your
breakfast, when you go to work/ university, when you have lunch,
when you return home, when you go to meet friends, etc.

Being very superstitious you decided a while ago never to do things

on full hours and everything that you do in a day has to begin on a
different minute of the hour.

Optional

Think about three things that you would like to include in your daily
routine.

5.Hobbies
In this lesson you learn to

Talk about your hobbies

Express and ask about likes and dislikes

Discuss what you or others have to do

You are in a new city and a friend wants to introduce you to a number of people. In order to do
so he wants to know about your hobbies. As you might imagine your professor is this friend.

Thinking

Think about the things that you currently enjoy doing for leisure.

Also think about some hobbies that you would like to try out.

Talking

Tell your friend about the things that you currently pursue as
hobbies.

Include some further information on your likes and dislikes.

Optional

Describe the typical day that you have in the new city.

6.Me, Myself & I

In this lesson you learn to

Express and ask about physical states (hungry, thirsty) and emotions (happy, sad)

Express and enquire about the ownership of things

Describe the location of things

Having lived in a Bed & Breakfast for a few weeks in your new country of residence you finally
decide to move to your own place. While the landlady of the Bed & Breakfast is generally a very
pleasant person she is also very moody and sometimes happy, sometimes sad.
As you already found a great furnished apartment that you will move into in a few weeks you get
in touch with an agency to help you move. They ask you about all the items that you have and
intent to move as well as their characteristics (whether they are big or small, old or new, heavy or
light). After having gone through all the items you start chatting a bit with the owner of the
agency and start complaining about the lady of the Bed & Breakfast.

Thinking

Take a minute to think about all the items that you would probably
have to move if you had just relocated to a new country.

In case you did not consider to bring your huge TV, your old CD
player and a large collection of books to your new country, you just
redecided and have these items amongst the things to move.

Talking

Tell the agency owner about all the items that you intent to move.

Gossip a bit about the owner of the Bed & Breakfast that you are
currently staying in.

Optional

Describe the owner of the agency the way to your new address from
the Bed & Breakfast.

7.Vacation
In this lesson you learn to

Discuss and describe future plans

Express preferences and desires

Plan to get to your next destination

o Buy tickets
o Ask for and respond to simple directions

o Talk about using different modes of transportation

Your professor is a travel agent whom you are visiting to plan your next vacation.
Thinking

Think about a destination that you always wanted to travel to.

Furthermore make some plans on how to travel (biking, hiking,

renting a car, public transport, etc.) and things that you want to
see.

Talking

Tell the travel agent abour your plans.

Ask about prices and availability or various modes of transportation

(bus, plane, ship etc.) as well as available rooms in ho(s)tels.

Optional

Start bargaining about the prices.

8.Parties
In this lesson you learn to

Extend invitations

Express gratitude and accept/reject an invitation

Ask for and respond to information about events in the present

Your are hosting a party for your birthday next Saturday and meet an old friend in the street. He
invites you over to his place for the same night that you are celebrating your birthday. Yet, you
have already invited some other people that he knows and with which he is not on good terms.
So, you decide to not invite him to prevent having a bad atmosphere. Then, he remembers also
that your birthday is coming up and asks you how old you become this year.
Thinking

Think about a good excuse to not meet him (without telling him that
you celebrate your birthday).

Furthermore think about some alternative event to invite him to in

order to catch up with him.

Talking

Decline his invitation with a good excuse.

Invite him for some different future event.

Optional

Tell him about some plan for the future that you have at the
moment.

9.Daily Routines
In this lesson you learn to

Describe your daily routines (where, when and how often do activities take place)

Express needs related to personal care

Compare and contrast people and things

Your professor takes up his role as time management coach again. After having gotten a first
insight into a typical day of yours in chapter 4, he wants to dig deeper now to find more time for
your language learning.
Thinking

Take a minute again to think about the things that you do every day.

Also think about the things that you do on a weekly, monthly or

annual basis.

Compare this lifestyle to the lifestyle of a travelling language

student.

Talking

Tell your coach about your current daily, weekly, monthly and
annual routines.

Contrast these with the routines of the traveller.

Optional

Think again about three things that you would like to include in your
daily routine.

10.At Home
In this lesson you learn to

Describe your home

Talk about household duties

Express what is happening at the moment

Recognize, ask about and express agreement or disagreement

Discuss people or objects using superlatives

Your professor is a landlord from whom you would like to rent an appartment. Yet, the rent is a
little too high for you. So you point out various shortcomings around the appartment hoping that
you might be able to lower the price.
Thinking

Take a minute to think about the things that are important for you in
an apartment.

Think about two or three shortcomings that the apartment that you
are about to rent has.

Talking

Show your interest in the apartment to the landlord without

becoming overexcited about it.

Negotiate about the price by pointing out various shortcomings (and

potentially some personal things, like being a student etc.).

Optional

Discuss whether you could share the apartment with two friends of
yours.

11. At the restaurant

In this lesson you learn to

Make a reservation on the phone

Place an order in a restaurant

Talk about food

Talk about events in the past

You want to get a table in one of the hottest restaurants in town for Saturday night. You are lucky
and get a reservation. After the dinner even the chef comes to your table and asks you about your
opinion of his signature dish.
Thinking

Think about the right kind of table (are you two persons looking for
a quiet table or a group of friends who need a large table in the
smoking area, etc:).

Already think about some good arguments to convince the

receptionist to give you a table in case he says the restaurant is
booked out.

Talking

Make your reservation.

Ask about additional information such as how to get there, parking

possibilites and whether you can pay with credit cards.

Optional

Have an after-dinner conversation with the chef (were you happy

with the service, did you like the food, etc.).

12.

In the Kitchen

In this lesson you learn to

Discuss cooking and recipes

Understand and talk about measurements

Describe in which manner you are doing things

Learn the numbers from 100 1000

After the dinner of the previous lesson you and your friends have a conversation about your
favorite dishes. You remember that one place where you always went with your parents which
served a dish which you liked incredibly back then.
Thinking

Think about the dish that you liked.

Also think about how it was prepared.

Talking

Share the story of your favorite dish with your friends (make sure to
use the past).

Also tell them about the way in which it was prepared.

Optional

Describe the kitchen of the place in which you grew up (again of

course, use the past).

13.

Outdoors

In this lesson you learn to

Talk about outdoor activities that you like to do in your free time

Make plans to do something

Talk about the weather

Ask for, offer and accept/refuse help

You and some friends plan a trip for the weekend. You discuss ideas of what to do and who does
what.
Thinking

Think about ideas of what one could do for a weekend in the

country whose language you are learning.

Consider the right words to express as well as disagreement.

Talking

Propose your ideas and discuss them with your friend, the language
teacher.

He /she offers to help with organizing the trip but you decline.

Optional

Discuss different options for good and bad weather.

14.

Sports

In this lesson you learn to

Talk about different sports

Report past events and activities

Express your ability/knowledge of activities

Use typical exclamations

Give and receive apologies

It's the week after you were on the road with your friends. You are on the phone with one of your
friends who hasn't been with you and who is a little mad because you forgot to invite him (about
which you are very embarassed).
Thinking

Think about a good excuse.

Consider the appropriate way to tell him about the weekend.

Talking

Make your apologies to your friend.

Tell her/ him about the weekend but play things down a bit (also
remember to use the past).

Optional

15.

Plan some sports event together with your friend.

Shopping

In this lesson you learn to

Talk about clothing

Negotiate with sales people in a store

Talk about what used to happen and what you used to do in the past

You are going to a local flea market and very excited about a second hand jeans that you find
there. Bargain with your professor to also get some perfectly fitting other items that are also on
sale.

Thinking

Consider the culturally appropriate way to bargain.

Think about which other items you also want to buy.

Talking

Point out your interest in the jeans.

Start to bargain to get it cheaper and some more items on top.

Optional

16.

After you bought the stuff you might get into small talk with the
vendor about how you used to go shopping on flea markets when
you were young.

Downtown

In this lesson you learn to

Discuss city life

Give recommendations to others

Express opinions with reasons

You are having a discussion with a friend on the advantages and disadvantages of pedestrian city
centers versus cities that are easily accessible through cars. What do you think?
Thinking

What is your opinion? Do you prefer city centers without cars or do

you like the convenience of being able to reach by car.

Think about good arguments.

Talking

State your opinion and your arguments.

Counter the arguments that your friend/ language teacher might

have.

Optional

17.

Discuss the rhetoric habits of the culture of your teacher (would

people easily state disagreement, how are arguments
introduced,etc.).

At the Doctor

In this lesson you learn to

Describe your state of health

Talk about the parts of your body

Ask for and respond to suggestions about plans

You have to go for your annual check-up and your doctor asks you about your health.
Thinking

What medical issues could you have while being abroad?

Further consider what kind of treatments your prefer: do you rather

trust traditional/ herbal treatments or modern/ pill-based medicine?

Talking

Give your doctor an overview of your physcial status.

Name particular issues/ body-parts that you have problems with.

Optional

18.

Discuss your preferences in terms of treatments.

Wellbeing

In this lesson you learn to

Talk about how to stay in shape

Express your emotions

Give your opinion about something

After your visit at the doctor in the last lesson you decided to also give your spiritual well-being
a check-up. You have a chat with spiritual guru on your Karma status.
Thinking

How happy are you with your current job and family situation?

How to you feel about your eating, drinking and sports habits?

Talking

Give your guru an overview of how you currently feel.

Outline a few things that you do to relax from work (sports, eating,
meeting friends, etc).

Optional

19.

Consider ideas for habits that you would like to pick up.

Worklife

In this lesson you learn to

Describe professions and occupations using work-related terms

Talk about the advantages and disadvantages of different professions

Persuade others

Talk about likes and dislikes, giving reasons

Understand commands and respond to them

You have your annual meeting with your boss and as you feel that you performed very well in
the past year you want a salary raise.
Thinking

Think about good arguments to propose for your raise.

Consider a good strategy to convince your boss to give you that

raise (do you want to threaten to quit or do you want to rely on your
arguments only).

Talking

Describe your performance in the past year and your satisfaction (or
unsatisfaction) with the current work situation.

Convince your boss to give you a salary raise.

Optional

20.

Negotiate whether there would be opportunities to move to another

position abroad with your current employer.

In the Office

In this lesson you learn to

Read the job ads

Write a brief business letter

Interview for a job

Make a professional phone call

After the raise you were negotiating for in the last lesson never materialized you decided to quit.
And the interest in you is very high, so that you have a job interview straightaway.
Thinking

Think about the important milestones in your career so far.

Consider the appropriate way to conduct job interviews in the

language that you are learning.

Talking

Introduce yourself.

Convince your interview partner that you are the best candidate for
this job.

Optional

21.

Negotiate salary, bonusses and benefits (such as health-insurance,

vacation days or pension).

Technology

In this lesson you learn to

Talk about technology

Conduct phone calls

Talk about what will happen and what has happened

Understand and describe how to do or use something

You are on the phone with the customer service of a larger computer producer because your
computer breaks down all the time.
Thinking

Think about typical computer problems you have.

Consider the right way to conduct a professional phone call.

Talking

Describe what has happened before your computer broke down the
last time and discuss solutions to the problem.

Ask about upcoming new computers from the company.

Optional

22.

Tell the customer service about features that you would like to see
on their computer.

News

In this lesson you learn to

Discuss recent political, economic and cultural issues

Understand and discuss the media

Talk about what could happen

Express and react to surprise, anger, concern and other emotions about an event of fact

Consider a recent issue in the country whose language you are learning and discuss it with your
language teacher. Also consider how the media was presenting the issue.
Thinking

Think about an issue in the country that recently caught a lot of

attention.

Think about your opinion on that matter and reflect how the media
reported on it.

Talking

Discuss the matter itself with your language teacher.

Discuss the way that the media reported the issue with him/ her.

Optional

23.

Consider the way in which the media should have picked up the
issue and how the public might have reacted differently then.

Culture

In this lesson you learn to

Discuss movies, music, theater and art

Express acceptance, hesitation and refusal

Hypothesize about future events

You are discussing the picture below which you have recently seen in an art gallery with a friend
and drift of into a discussion of arts in general: is art important for you, which arts do you like?
Thinking

Think about your opinion of the picture below.

Consider how history would have been different if there wouldn't be

any artists.

Talking

Discuss the picture with your language teacher.

Give him or her your opinion on how history would have been
different without artists.

Optional

24.

Further discuss how the future would look like if there was a sudden
increase in the number of artists.

Nature

In this lesson you learn to

Discuss environmental issues

Talk about what will have happened in future

Talk about what would have happened in the past

You are volunteering as a guard in a national park over the summer. One evening you encounter
a group of youngsters slightly drunk who are about to pitch a tent (which is strictly forbidden)
and light up a BBQ (which is even stricter forbidden). You give them a lecture about the
degradation of nature.
Thinking

Think about how to express your anger.

Make a mental list of the things that could happen if the fire
spreads.

Talking

Express your anger and scold the youngsters.

Tell them about all the things that could happen because of their
irresponsibility.

Optional

25.

Throw them out of the national park.

Politics

In this lesson you learn to

Discuss imporant world issues and possible solutions

Understand and express actions or ideas that are conditional upon each other

Give and ask for reasons for or against an idea

You are the representative of a small human rights NGO at the UN and are trying to convince the
UN staff that you should be given access to a meeting where issues will be discussed for whom
you have special expertise and local knowledge.
Thinking

Think about ways to convince the staff member to give you access.

Consider how the meeting might me different if your expertise is

heard there.

Talking

Discuss the matter with the staff member.

Point out to him what effect your insights would have.

Optional

Discuss the human rights issue with your teacher that you
internationally consider most pressing at the moment.